Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,245,377 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA, including 140,173 crashes, 56,794 fires, and 8,580 deaths.
What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?
A consumer complaint is a free-form report filed by a vehicle owner directly to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) describing a safety concern about their vehicle. NHTSA collects these reports through its Vehicle Owner Defect Report (VOQ) system and publishes them publicly. Each complaint includes the affected component, the date and circumstances of the incident, whether the failure caused a crash or fire, and any reported injuries or deaths. The owner's full narrative description is included verbatim, NHTSA does not edit or moderate the descriptions.
The database below contains over 2,245,377 individual complaints. NHTSA's investigators monitor it for clusters of similar reports, when enough owners describe the same failure mode on the same vehicle, NHTSA may open a Preliminary Evaluation that can lead to a recall. Many of the largest recalls in U.S. history, including the Takata airbag recall and the Hyundai/Kia engine fire recalls, started as patterns visible in this complaint database years before they became formal recalls.
How to interpret what you read
A few principles for reading consumer complaints usefully:
- One complaint is anecdote; a hundred similar complaints is data. NHTSA does not investigate the truthfulness of any individual report, that's the job of the Office of Defects Investigation, which looks at the full pattern. When evaluating a vehicle, look for whether multiple owners describe the same chain of events.
- Crash, fire, injury, and death flags are owner-set. They are not verified by NHTSA. They are still useful as a filter, because owners who tick those boxes are typically reporting more serious incidents than those who don't.
- Component categories are NHTSA-assigned, not owner-assigned. NHTSA standardizes the component field so that complaints can be aggregated. The owner narrative often goes into more detail than the component category captures.
- Complaint volume scales with sales volume. A best-selling model will accumulate more raw complaints than a niche model even at the same defect rate. To compare across vehicles, look at complaints per 100,000 units sold, not raw counts.
If you've experienced a defect
File a complaint. NHTSA's investigators rely on this database to detect emerging defects, and useful complaints, specific, concrete, with dates and mileage and clear descriptions of what happened, feed directly into the agency's pattern detection. The form takes about 10 minutes and is at nhtsa.gov/recalls under "Report a Safety Problem." Your complaint becomes part of the same public record that this page is built from. Owners filing detailed VOQs are how recalls get triggered.
Read more from our blog
Showing 62,191 complaints for KIA
Incident date: Feb 5, 2025
The contact owns a 2023 Chevrolet Suburban. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the engine made an abnormal sound. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The contact later received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V274000(Engine and Engine Cooling); however, the part to do th... Read more
Incident date: Aug 5, 2025
The Multi-Media Interface (MMI) randomly reboots and poses a safety hazard. Several times while reversing using my backup camera, the MMI has rebooted which causes the camera to go blank. This poses a risk to back up into an object or a person during this time. Also during this time, the Rear Cross Traffic Warning system is disabled until the system reboots. Also, while using navigation, the M... Read more
Incident date: Aug 5, 2025
There is no remedy available to fix the OCS sensor in front passenger seat of our 2021 Toyota Avalon. We are scared to drive it. What are our options since Toyota will not help.
Incident date: Aug 5, 2025
The problem is the torque converter. It causes a hesitation when accelerating from being stopped, usually around 30-43 mph is when the car acts like it isn't going to speed up and slows down instead of speeding up. I had the torque converter replaced once in Sept. 2024. My car has 82,213 miles. I took my car in today 8/5/25 and was confirmed that the torque converter need to be replaced again. T... Read more
KIA
FORTE
(2024) - SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS
Aug 4, 2025
Incident date: Aug 2, 2025
The contact owns a 2018 Ford F-150. The contact stated that while reversing out of a parking space, the brake pedal extended to the floor while depressed, causing the braking distance to be extended. The contact discovered brake fluid was leaking from the vehicle, with the message "Low Brake Fluid" displayed. The vehicle was driven to the local mechanic, who diagnosed that the front passenger’s ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 5, 2025
Brakes locked up while driving on the freeway, causing collision with another car and freeway guard rail. CHP report taken. AAA auto insurance does not seem interested in investigating manufacturing defect problems/issues. No dashboard warning/maintenance lights illuminated
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Apr 4, 2025
While parked back rear glass shattered spontaneously. No object stuck glass. No visible sign of impact. Car was not moving and sitting still. This was a safety issue for rear 3rd seat passengers. No warnings were present
Incident date: Jul 12, 2025
The contact's wife owns a 2014 GMC Yukon XL. The contact stated that on several occasions, the vehicle failed to start with the key in the ignition. The failure persisted and a yellow anti-theft warning symbol was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that on one occasion the vehicle failed to start after several attempts and the contact became trapped inside the vehicle for appro... Read more
1 injured
Incident date: Aug 4, 2025
The vehicle was being driven to work when the engine lost power and several warning lights started cycling. The vehicle started shaking badly. The truck had 62,735 miles and was regularly serviced. We took it to Christian Brothers Automotive in Lubbock, TX. where they were able to find that that lifters failed causing $7,000.00 in damage. The shop that made the repairs said it is a common and kno... Read more
KIA
SORENTO HYBRID
(2025) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Aug 4, 2025
Incident date: Aug 3, 2025
Subject: Safety Hazard – Turn Signal Button Placement on Tesla Model 3/Y (Newer Models) Hi there, I am reaching because the newer Tesla models have eliminated the turn signal stalks and instead incorporated the turn signal controls as buttons directly on the steering wheel. This became a critical safety hazard multiple times when taking a turn and had to give the turn indication. The issue happ... Read more
KIA
SORENTO HYBRID
(2025) - STEERING
Aug 4, 2025
Incident date: Aug 3, 2025
Subject: Safety Hazard – Turn Signal Button Placement on Tesla Model 3/Y (Newer Models) Hi there, I am reaching because the newer Tesla models have eliminated the turn signal stalks and instead incorporated the turn signal controls as buttons directly on the steering wheel. This became a critical safety hazard multiple times when taking a turn and had to give the turn indication. The issue happ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 4, 2025
The contact owns a 2014 Cadillac XTS. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to stop as intended. The contact slowly drove the vehicle to the residence five streets away. The contact exited the vehicle and performed an inspection of the vehicle. Upon inspecting the vehicle, the contact noticed that the front passenger’... Read more
Incident date: Apr 4, 2025
Had ACC set on 80 MPH on the hiway yesterday. A vehicle was passing me and the Tesla suddenly applied heavy brake pressure to the point of tires screeching. Speed dropped very quickly to about 50 MPH. I had not touched the brake pedal. Brakes released and speed resumed to 80 MPH. VERY SCARY and high risk of rear end collision. Lucky nobody was behind me. Don’t want to experience that agai... Read more
Incident date: Apr 4, 2025
Had ACC set on 80 MPH on the hiway yesterday. A vehicle was passing me and the Tesla suddenly applied heavy brake pressure to the point of tires screeching. Speed dropped very quickly to about 50 MPH. I had not touched the brake pedal. Brakes released and speed resumed to 80 MPH. VERY SCARY and high risk of rear end collision. Lucky nobody was behind me. Don’t want to experience that agai... Read more
Incident date: Aug 3, 2025
I purchased my Kia sorento in August of 2024 in April 2025 my Kia went into limp mode p1326. It was determined to be part of the ksds recall but all they did is replace the sensor. Something caused that sensor to go off and I feel they just masked the problem. At the same time in April I was told that there is a severe case of oil consumption that the Kia dealership requested information i... Read more
Incident date: Aug 3, 2025
On [XXX] I was driving on the freeway when both A pillars came loose and the rubber trim was damaged. I had to pull over and buy some electrical tape from the gas station to somehow secure them so that I can get home. While I was looking into the repair I came across information that there is a current safety recall for the A-Pillars for the Ford Explorer and my vehicle was one of the affected veh... Read more
KIA
FORTE
(2017) - ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:ANTI-THEFT:IMMOBILIZER/PROXIMITY:KEY/SENDER
Aug 4, 2025
Incident date: Aug 2, 2025
The contact owns a 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the key fob became inoperable. The contact was not able to start the vehicle with the security warning light illuminated. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000.
Incident date: Jul 29, 2025
Found coolant leak from heat exchanger into exhaust pipe. Looks like, T-SB-0135-19.
Incident date: Jul 19, 2025
Two weeks ago, I had my 2022 Toyota Highlander serviced at Romano Toyota for my state inspection and regular maintenance. The dealership passed the inspection and did not mention any problems with my vehicle. However, just two days after the maintenance, the check engine light came on unexpectedly. The vehicle began to hesitate and shift roughly, with noticeable jerking during acceleration and de... Read more
Incident date: Jul 19, 2025
Two weeks ago, I had my 2022 Toyota Highlander serviced at Romano Toyota for my state inspection and regular maintenance. The dealership passed the inspection and did not mention any problems with my vehicle. However, just two days after the maintenance, the check engine light came on unexpectedly. The vehicle began to hesitate and shift roughly, with noticeable jerking during acceleration and de... Read more
Incident date: Jul 16, 2025
1. The components that failed were the transmission because the vehicle was driving and continued to slow down until it came to a complete stop gradually, and had to be pushed home. And also, there was an issue with the doors unlocking on their own and all windows rolling down by themselves. 2. The safety risk was the issues that happened without any knowledge of any issues at all with the vehicle... Read more
Incident date: Mar 9, 2021
1. What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The engine coolant system failed due to coolant intrusion into the engine cylinders, a known defect in the 1.5L EcoBoost engine. This caused white exhaust smoke, engine misfires, overheating, and eventual engine failure. The vehicle is currently undriveable and available for inspection upon reques... Read more
Incident date: Mar 9, 2021
After an accident occurred the drivers seat moved forward. The incident was a minor collision. During the repair of the vehicle, the body shop stated the seat could not be fixed. Drivers seat may not be moved forward or back now, making the vehicle unsafe to drive for certain people.
Crash
Incident date: Mar 9, 2021
Car started to make whining noise when accelerating, was taken to a car repair shop & it was found that the transmission will need to be replaced with only around 43k miles on the vehicle. Let it be noted that there are many other people on numerous Toyota forums complaining of the same issues.
Incident date: Aug 1, 2023
The MMI which controls back up and 360 cameras, parking sensors, collision avoidance system, navigation, bluetooth, radio, etc reboots randomly without warning. There is no predictability and I have not been able to identify a trigger. There is no warning indicator on the dash or MMI before it happens. When it reboots the screen goes black and all associated MMI functions become inoperable for sec... Read more
Incident date: Aug 2, 2025
car turned off at light all lights work and turns on engine won’t roll over the battery and alternator and starter are all good
KIA
SORENTO PHEV
(2022) - EXTERIOR LIGHTING
Aug 3, 2025
Incident date: Jul 29, 2025
To Whom It May Concern, Subject: Formal Complaint – 2011 Hyundai Sonata GLS Tail Light Meltdown / Fire Hazard Date: August 3, 2025 I am writing to formally report a serious safety issue with my 2011 Hyundai Sonata GLS, specifically concerning the tail light assembly, which has melted and poses a potential fire hazard and traffic safety risk. Approximately a year and a half ago, I noticed mel... Read more
KIA
SORENTO PHEV
(2022) - UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Aug 3, 2025
Incident date: Jul 29, 2025
To Whom It May Concern, Subject: Formal Complaint – 2011 Hyundai Sonata GLS Tail Light Meltdown / Fire Hazard Date: August 3, 2025 I am writing to formally report a serious safety issue with my 2011 Hyundai Sonata GLS, specifically concerning the tail light assembly, which has melted and poses a potential fire hazard and traffic safety risk. Approximately a year and a half ago, I noticed mel... Read more
KIA
SORENTO PHEV
(2022) - ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Aug 3, 2025
Incident date: Jul 29, 2025
Cadillac cue system started with spider veins on screen then stopped working at same time light gate goes up and down on its own when driving very dangerous, sometimes when parked it will go up part way down up again and then close someone walks by might hurt them shame Cadillac will not admit to this mistake on a 50000 car
Incident date: Jul 30, 2025
My breaks stopped working while I was driving, they became hard to press and unable to function. The vacuum pump attached to the engine failed. The vacuum has broken pieces that are now inside of the engine. No warning indicator lights appeared before the incident. As far as I'm aware other similar models are having the same issue but my vin was not included in the recall.
Incident date: Jul 30, 2025
serious error made during full self drive, it wants to make an illegal left turn at the intersection of cascade road and beltine that has caused multiple near collisions (see google maps location [XXX] ). I notified tesla of this via feedback option with no change for the last 4 months. I am concerned about full self drive ignoring traffic laws. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INF... Read more
Incident date: Aug 2, 2025
After safety recall 72B was performed on my 2019 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid on 7/17/25, the vehicle's check engine light illuminated and it began experiencing charging failures. I've never experienced these issues prior to the recall being performed and the vehicle returned to me. The component that has failed is the high-voltage (HV) battery pack and its control system. Diagnostic scans performed ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 16, 2025
Automatic Emergency Braking, for no reason, occurred twice while on autopilot. Driving on a remote interstate, during the day, no one and nothing in front of me (and I had a passenger that can confirm), and suddenly the car rapidly braked extremely hard. If I hadn't slammed the accelerator immediately I would have been rear ended the first time. The second time, no one was near me. I am attempt... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2024
Automatic Emergency Braking, for no reason, occurred twice while on autopilot. Driving on a remote interstate, during the day, no one and nothing in front of me (and I had a passenger that can confirm), and suddenly the car rapidly braked extremely hard. If I hadn't slammed the accelerator immediately I would have been rear ended the first time. The second time, no one was near me. I am attempt... Read more
Incident date: Jul 25, 2025
Chrome is peeling along perimeter of cup holder, and is razor sharp. While attempting to clean, sliced 2 fingers tips. This could be extremely dangerous to little children.
Incident date: Jul 7, 2025
Transmission oil leak with only 60,000 miles just bought from a dealership as is 3 days ago and was not informed of the issue
Incident date: Aug 2, 2025
The primary issues are: The vehicle consistently chooses the wrong lane and drifts across yellow lines. The FSD visualization fails to correctly distinguish road markings, lanes, and turning arrows, causing them to move erratically on the display. The car attempts to merge into lanes that appear in the visualization but do not exist on the road. The vehicle attempts to merge into lanes that ar... Read more
Incident date: Aug 2, 2025
Coolant intrusive. New motor needed
Incident date: Jun 30, 2025
After recall took my car for repair to the volvo dealer. They installed the new software version 3.7 but it did not fix the problem..still i am getting backup camera not available massage.
Incident date: Jun 30, 2025
Took my car in to the dealership when the SRS light came on. Dealership initially said it was due to damage to the electrical harness We paid over 8000 for repairs and got our car back. We had to take the vehicle back 2 more times as the light kept coming back on. The final fix the dealership did to finally make the SRS light stop coming back is the same thing for the fix for the recall for th... Read more
Incident date: Jun 30, 2025
I was driving up a hill on the highway with my father in the car with me when my car began to rattle slightly. I looked down and saw that my engine heat dial was somewhat higher than its standard setting, which was weird because I had just put engine coolant in a day or two prior. A second later, my dash said, "Severe engine failure. Pull over." At the same time, the smell of smoke wafted into the... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Jul 26, 2025
Purchased brand new April 24, 2025 within two days of purchase the infotainment system went blank after a few seconds it reloaded. This happened off and on for a couple of weeks dealer replied its a known issue. After 5 weeks the infotainment system and the driver dash went completely blank and stayed that way. The infotainment system had a picture of a care with a wrench and screw driver stating... Read more
Incident date: Jun 11, 2025
When my daughter and I were driving on the highway, the dash lights completely went out while driving at over 60 miles per hour. It was a scary experience. The dash lights came back on a few seconds later. This occurred in July 2024. I brought the vehicle into the dealership on July 23, 2024. I was informed there were no recalls on the vehicle and a computer scan of the vehicle revealed no pr... Read more
Incident date: Apr 15, 2025
The contact owns a 2011 Ford Fiesta. The contact stated that while driving on a main road at 30 MPH, the transmission shifted independently to neutral(N). The contact pulled over and restarted the vehicle. The contact shifted to drive(D) and drove to the residence. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission control module had failed and needed to be rep... Read more
Incident date: Jul 25, 2025
MY 2018 Outback experienced a driver side smoking mirror a few days ago. While parked at the gas station, a large amount of smoke suddenly began emanating from the driver side mirror. As a result I no longer see my TPMS, the ability to lock/unlock the car with the remote, interior lights no longer work.
Fire
Incident date: Jul 1, 2025
My 2020 Toyota Highlander is equipped with Toyota’s UA80 8‑speed transmission. At around 62, 000 miles, a loud whining noise developed. The dealership confirmed the transmission is defective. Toyota has issued multiple Technical Service Bulletins acknowledging this transmission defect across all 2020 Highlanders with the UA80, but they are refusing to cover my repair because I am slightly over... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2021
My car began throwing codes for a Cylinder 2 misfire in October of 23. We did a tune up. Within a few months, same issue. By Oct of 24 my head gasket needed replaced. Now it is August of 25 and I am having the same issue and signs that the head gasket is bad again. I am told by dealers this is due to a faulty head gasket that Ford knowingly put in the vehicles. There is a limited recall for the 1.... Read more
Incident date: Oct 8, 2024
The contact owns a 2013 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start. There was no warning light illuminated prior to the failure. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer for a tune-up, and the dealer diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the engine failure had occurred eight months after the transmission was replaced due to an unknown... Read more